"Everyone in London thinks about homelessness. It's something you see pretty much every day and it feels like it's getting worse"

By Lee Mannion

LONDON, Dec 19 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - As diners arriving at the restaurant urged staff to shut the door on the bitter December wind blowing in from the street, those working in the kitchen were simply happy not to be sleeping out in the cold any longer.

The five rosy-cheeked men and women rushing up and down to prepare dinner for 30 guests all live in hostels in London and are working to secure deposits for their first homes. "The hostel where I am, it's not a safe place," 26-year-old Cameroonian Emmanuel Bejedi told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in between seating diners.

"Police come there every day. People fighting. Someone got stabbed in the canteen. Very scary. I pray I can get out of there as soon as I can."

Bejedi works for Fat Macy's, a social enterprise using London's love of dining out to help the city's homeless. The roaming supper club, run by volunteers living in temporary housing, pops up in different venues around the capital.

Homelessness is soaring in England due to rising rents, welfare cuts and a lack of affordable homes, charities say.

Nearly 80,000 households in England live in temporary accommodation, according to Britain's Department for Communities and Local Government, the majority in London where rents are among the highest in Europe.

The average rent in London is 1,556 pounds ($2,076), according to the insurance provider HomeLet.

"Everyone in London thinks about homelessness. It's something you see pretty much every day and it feels like it's getting worse," said Michaela Rhode, a diner at Fat Macy's first Christmas supper club at the Luminary Bakery.

Rhode was one of 30 guests who paid 30 pounds to tuck into dishes such as pheasant and chicken pastilla and mince pie brownies in north London's upmarket Stoke Newington.

"Coming along, having a really nice dinner and supporting a cause seems like a win-win," she said.

After 200 hours of work, Fat Macy's moves its volunteers into their own rented accommodation. It finds a suitable property and transfers the deposit directly to the landlord.

It then provides ongoing support to ensure tenants can budget, manage their outgoings and pay their rent on time.

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